Harlan Coben to write five more 'page-turning' thrillers for Century

Century has signed a new five-book deal with bestselling thriller writer Harlan Coben.

Century publisher Selina Walker acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Lisa Erbach Vance of the Aaron M Priest Literary Agency. The first book in the new deal will be published in 2024, a year after Century publishes Coben’s next thriller, I Will Find You, in March 2023.

Ben Sevier, senior vice-president and publisher at Grand Central Publishing, simultaneously acquired the North American rights. So far Coben has published seven books with Century, the first being Fool Me Once in 2016. Prior to that, he was published by Orion. According to Nielsen BookScan, Coben has shifted 5.67 million books in the UK for £30.9m in total, with 2010’s Play Dead (Orion) his bestseller, on 264,630 copies sold in paperback.

Walker commented: “I could not be more delighted with the deal. It is a huge testament of trust that Harlan has given us five more of his gripping, page-turning thrillers to publish and sell in all our territories. 

“With multiple Netflix series being screened globally, his profile simply could not be higher. He truly is a brand in the best possible way, and I much look forward to the years and books ahead of us. We also can’t wait to have Harlan here in the UK to promote I Will Find You next March.”

Coben, whose books have been published in 46 languages around the globe, is also the creator and executive producer of many television shows, including “Stay Close” and “The Stranger”. Netflix recently renewed its overall deal with Coben for several more years, adding among other books his Myron Bolitar series to the agreement. 

His TV series adaptation of Shelter (Orion) for Amazon Studios, starring Jaden Michael and Constance Zimmer, is currently in production and will be released on Prime Video in the coming months.